The Official Blog of the Independent Community of Educators, a caucus of the United Federation of Teachers

Saturday, April 08, 2017

LIVE BLOGGING FROM DEAD NYSUT RA

I stole the title from Norm Scott with his OK since he could not get EdNotes out from here at day two of the NYSUT Representative Assembly.

Today the floor is fairly empty. There were some speeches, resolutions and now awards are going out for social justice.

In the NYSUT election, Unity's Andy Pallotta won. No surprise there. I cannot tell you his margin of victory because the Election Committee would not release the numbers.

As you can see from the photo, it is not exactly a packed house here on day two. This picture was taken before the election winners were announced.

UPDATED AND CORRECTED*: Pallotta in his victory speech said he would unite the union. He would hear and activate every local and every member. He quoted Thomas Jefferson after the contested 1800 US election trying to unite the country. Earlier today, Unity Secretary Treasurer Martin Messner compared our situation as a union to what England faced when it was close to being invaded by Hitler in 1940. He quoted the famous British Prime Minister Winston Churchill saying how Britain would fight with everything it had to "defend our island" when he took power at the low point of World War II.

It is difficult for me to be inspired by two men who can cite Churchill and Jefferson but in their careers as Executive Vice President and treasurer, have acted more like Churchill's predecessor, Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain practiced a policy of appeasement with the Germans to keep Hitler happy by giving him half of Chechoslovakia in 1938. Look at how we have done in Albany under Pallotta. We have already given away more than half of what we had. Appeasement at its finest to keep Governor Andrew Cuomo content.

For those who hate Nazi analogies, I apologize but Unity brought it up.

I do wish Pallotta well. He will need to develop new skills very quickly if NYSUT is to recover.

*Earlier versions said the Churchill analogy was from Pallotta. Ed Notes cited Messner and we will go with that version. If anyone can correct us, please do so. We endeavor to be accurate but Unity leaders start to sound alike after a while.

A few years ago I drove up to Albany on New Year's Eve to participate in an anti-Cuomo rally across from the Governor's Mansion. It was freezing but we toughed it out until the end only to see Andy Pallotta put down his sign and stroll across the street so he could attend the Governor's reception. I know it's politics and all that, but it just felt wrong. Pallotta just seems shady to me.

Thanks James, Arthur, Jia, and Norm for being at the NYSUT RA. It's really pathetic how our unions are run. People are going to jump at the chance to stop paying dues to these corrupt, undemocratically-run organizations. I think everyone should withhold dues until there are some major changes made to the way they operate, maybe they'll hear our voices then and maybe they'll let you and the others into the room.

funny but your analogy to Chamberlain and Churchill was part of the theme of my speech last week at the UFT Ex Bd. Watching them every day they are appeasers. Not a bone of Churchill in their bodies.Arthur, Jia and I sat in the balcony and I fell asleep, only waking up when another Unity slug called the question.

I would say quoting Churchill speaks volumes on the ignorance of the speaker. There are many good reasons why Obama refused Britain's gift of a Churchill bust for the White House. (Trump accepted of course.) Many countries and historians do not consider Churchill a demi-god, but a deeply flawed, if not outright evil, person that committed many crimes against humanity. Genocide - to initially targeting civilian sites during WW2, the list goes on and on. His slogan for his Conservative Party was 'Keep England White'. All conveniently dismissed because of his leadership in time of crisis. Read up on him for an eye opener.

Police are looking for a man they say shot another man in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn last week.

Police say the 32-year-old victim was walking near the intersection of Hancock Street and Broadway around 10:30 p.m. Monday when the suspect approached him from behind and fired several rounds in his direction.

The victim was struck five times, but survived his injuries according to police.

Police say the shooting is believed to be random, as the victim does not know the suspect.

The suspect is described as a black male in his late teens or early 20’s. He was last seen wearing all dark clothing, according to police.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74682). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

I'm an ATR, tons of all black schools I go to have nothing but black teachers and black supervisors...Those schools, about 95% of them are completely out of control, and the only reason the grad rates are what they are is because they use free grades, credit recovery, packets to make up for a full year of missed work, and the "we cant fail everybody technique." As for the stories above, those are legit news reports. How is it racism?

Looks like more left wing bluster. Always a reason for the downfall of society and public education in order to not offend certain people. How many times in this forum has it been asked why all of the schools that have been closed and that continue to fail always have the same student makeup? Still waiting for a cogent answer.

If I may chime in, I have to say I take offense when I have read on this site that I get cursed and threatened because I am racist and the students can detect I am that way. First of all, that's false. Second, I have never met most people who read this, which means yo are guessing about me. I can honestly say I can say something as simple as put the phone away and that starts a conflict. I am the one who gets called white piece of shit, faggot, gets told to suck dick, hears hitler if they know I'm Jewish. I don't do or say anything racist to have students who don't belong stroll into the class uninvited and stay for a half hour, or have students who do belong walkout. I am offended that other teachers on this board think so lowly of coworkers and think so highly of students who are often doing the wrong thing. I can cite numbers, stats, criminal offenses, college ready rate, etc. I wake up, go to work, bother nobody, get abused al day, and have a stellar record over 20 years. Please watch what you say and who you protect. I do nothing to incur the wrath I receive everyday. The students don't have to detect I'm racist to verbally assault me or worse. That's the kind of people they are, they just do it.

If you are the guy that writes comments that have nothing to do with the postings and continually malign blacks committing crime, what would you think? You race bait the readers. Then you cry woes be me when people call you out on it.

I hear that this topic was something different, but is it possible a teacher is venting, and uses this forum to do so. Look at any teacher page, site, facebook atr alliance, etc...Its complaint after complaint, abuse after abuse, in every way, by everybody. And as another poster said above, the facts are clear about crime, failing schools, etc. Is it possible the teacher complaining about that stuff entered the school system and saw blacks acting this way, disrespectful, no self responsibility? Maybe the actions of the students made him feel this way and say these things. Instead of calling him racist, how do we make the students behave better and what do we do with students who don't conform, as we are not even using the discipline code as written?

Yeah, some of you are really underplaying how teachers get tortured everyday. If you are lucky enough not to be, great. But principals to APs to secretaries to no bathroom keys to taunts by students to traveling from one boro to another to no parking placards...

When I read the comments about "black crime" it makes me wonder if that poster realizes that they are helping to discredit this blog. Maybe that IS their objective... now who would want to do that? Short of deleting the off-topic comments (which I would do), I wonder if it's possible to move the comments. If so, you could make a post about NYC crime and then move all related comments to that one post so that other readers would be able to read and comment on other posts without having to sift through all of these off-topic and often inflammatory comments.

What is more important, writing articles about the same unity oath stuff, which never changes, saying we need a better union, which never changes, saying the teachers are idiots, which never changes, saying unity gets automatic election victories, which never changes...Or, discussing the real problems in schools, many of which are the students?

Great post. That Ed notes guy loves to blame teachers and thinks the students sense some teachers are racists and abuse them accordingly. What a fool he is. Please sit down and the student respose is?Please but your phone away and the student response is? We all know the real truth. Blaming caring and dedicated teachers is the strategy of the doe and shouldn't be compounded by Ed notes guy or anyone else who worked as a teacher. We do our job everyday and try our best to keep order and teach. Where does guys like him get off blaming teachers and assuming we are racists. Many students have so many emotional and perception challenges that it would be foolish to believe they can properly sense the intentions of a teacher. I'm a racist because I only want my students to stay off the phones, complete the assignment given, stay in the classroom and seats and not abuse each other and me. Don't want to be told to suck my dick, don't want to be told fuck u my nig, you all know the rest all too well. Blame me all you want but the facts and reality speak for themselves. God Bless My Friends!

@6:21 don't waste your time on the angry racist troll. He/she is blinded by ignorance and insecurity. He/she has a stone in both eyes. I ignore that noise because it's meaningless. I and you know the power, strength, good, bad, courage and intelligence of all people. The RAT (racist anonymous troll) is trying to release the venom from his/her heart onto this site. Bye rat bye.

If Britain did not survive in 1940 when they were fighting Hitler alone, it would have been a hell of a lot more difficult for the USSR to survive and for the US to liberate Western Europe. Allies kind of were interdependent although clearly US industrial might made the difference. Really enjoy this argument Bronx ATR.

Do you think the Chamberlain government, having totally messed up most of the first year of the war, holds out in the Battle of Britain?

Same holds true for union leaders. The leaders who got us into the state we are in like Weingarten and Pallotta are not likely to lead the fight to get us out of this mess.

I don't argue the Churchill's leadership for the preservation of his own country. I do however with people using him as an example of political and moral idolatry. Churchill and Hitler's views were very similar - eugenics, subjection of inferior races and eventual edification of those races. Those goals were Britain's goals which we facilitated and came to think of as our own.As for the UFT - we don't believe in compromise, we go straight to complete surrender. I also enjoyed this. Have a great vacation.

"When I read the comments about "black crime" it makes me wonder if that poster realizes that they are helping to discredit this blog. Maybe that IS their objective... now who would want to do that?"

7:56am, I have considered dropping off topic comments but decided against it. There are plenty of teachers who think the students are the problem. Let them vent here. I think I make my view that it is not the kids, it is the system, that is the main problem. Moving all the comments to a post on crime is an idea but I am not sure if I have the time to monitor everything I have heard from friends who say they hate many of the comments here. I try to understand the frustrations we teachers face.

8:29, You have a point about same old stuff. I keep hoping by spreading the word it will wake people up. Let me go back to Churchill who told the Harrow graduates in 1941:

"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty- except to convictions of honor and good sense."

Would you have wanted the Labor Party to back Lord Halifax in 1940 when the vote of no confidence in Chamberlain (which Chamberlain won) took place? I think Halifax may have not had the many flaws Churchill had. The British Empire was far from ideal. I will take it over Hitler any day of the week.

"One may dislike Hitler's system and yet admire his patriotic achievements. If our country were defeated, I hope we should find a champion and organizer as indomitable in spirit as him, to restore our courage and lead us back to our place among the nations." Churchill

The elite of Britain had a begrudging respect, some may say even envy, of Hitler and Germany. Halifax originally hoped to bring Hitler down from within Germany, but saw that was not going to happen. I believe he realized Britain would lose to Germany, which it would have, had not the US come in. They declassified a lot of info on Halifax. Perhaps it takes a monster to fight a monster - in that regard Britain made the right choice.

No idolatry. Just historical analysis. For all his flaws, I can't equate Churchill with Hitler. I admire Britain for holding out in 1940. Not sure it happens without Churchill. World is definitely a better place because Britain survived.

I just spoke to my mother in law who was born in Jamaica when it was still under British rule. She is no reactionary but hearing from people who lived under imperialism is sometimes surprising and always enlightening. History and historical figures are usually very grey and not too black and white.

Very true. I don't see much difference between the two, if I'm to objective about it. If Germany won, Hitler would be Germany's Churchill and we'd be having a similar conversation, in German of course.

LOL. No I would have never been born if Germany wins. Churchill's government had Clement Atlee as Home Secretary. It was truly bipartisan. It commissioned Beveridge Report which led to modern welfare state in Britain. No way does that government compare to Hitler. After war, Churchill lost 1945 election. Not possible with Nazis. I am getting off topic here. He went into opposition.

Additionally the Department of Labor provides other reports about the UFT. Go to their site and input file number 063-924 at the top and select the type of report you want to review. These files are in spreadsheet format.